Their work on the fatigue associated with rheumatoid arthritis
has led to international consensus that fatigue must be measured in
all clinical trials of rheumatoid arthritis treatments, putting it
firmly on the international research agenda.

“This topic was brought up by patients themselves, during our
early research to find out what outcomes were important for them.
Patients considered fatigue to be an overwhelming problem that was
ignored by health care teams, and that they could not manage
alone.”

Professor Sarah Hewlett

With substantial support from Arthritis Research UK,
Sarah’s research has sought to understand the nature of fatigue and
its impact on patients, and to develop an accurate measurement tool
for fatigue and its different dimensions. This has led to the
development of successful interventions to help people manage this
distressing symptom.

“New fatigue measurement tools have been developed which have
been translated into 34 languages, and are in widespread use. We
have also successfully tested a self-management programme based on
cognitive behavioural therapy. We believe patients with other types
of inflammatory arthritis would also benefit.”